And so it continues. Our nation, forever consumed by the flames of social segregation, influenced to some extent on the foundations of indigenous tikanga, continues to rage warfare on a political minefield. The issue at hand... The letter H in the spelling of Wanganui, ahem... I beg your pardon, Whanganui. The finding rests accordingly with the National Geographic Board’s (GB) decision to drop the ‘h’ back into Wanganui after a submission made to them by local iwi, Tupoho. The struggle has persisted over a number of years and local Maori have made a number of submissions to the GB over the issue. Effectively, “Wanganui” is not a Maori word, in which controversial mayor, Michael Laws, openly admits knowledge to but he believes that the word has, quote: “a culture, heritage and mana all of its own” http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/opinion/willie-jackson/2309416/It-s-Whanganui-not-Wanganui. Mr Laws called on the Government to respect a May referendum of the city’s residents, which overwhelmingly rejected a change. 77% showed their support of leaving Wanganui h-less. On the flip side, Te Runanga o Tupoho iwi spokesman Ken Mair said it was a clear-cut issue that involved “correcting a wrong”. He said “if you spell someone’s name wrong, you must do the right thing and change it”. The iwi said that without the ‘h’ the name ‘Wanganui’ is without substance because Whanganui means/translates as ‘great harbour’ or great expanse of water. It was named thus by an ancestor of the concerned area, Hau [ancestor], of the Aotea waka. “Whanga” – harbour, “nui” – great.
So Michael Laws is all up in arms about the issue, calling the GB’s decision a racist one, because it didn’t consider the opinions of the constituents of Whanganui. Well, clearly in the matter of speaking, the issue has gone beyond the ratepayers and citizens of Whanganui. The word “Whanganui” is a Maori word, so the matter SHOULD rest with the local iwi of the area, shouldn’t it? And, how can Laws justify ‘Wanganui’ as having its own “mana”? Is it not unethical to apply the word “mana” to a non-Maori word in the context of validating it [the non-Maori word]? Tupoho have been struggling with the issue for over a decade so it’s no surprise to myself and many other Maori that the GB has had a change of heart. It’s, as Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says, “the right thing to do”. After all, the city derives its name from the river, “Whanganui”.
Over time, the modern usage of the Wanganui dialect has forced, in some elusive manner or another, people to spell the name the same as the sound of the name. With this idea in place, why should ‘Whanganui’ be spelt ‘wh’? Assuming the principles of the alphabet of the Western World (A B C D and so on), who says we can’t or shouldn’t spell Whanganui with an ‘f’? People must remember that the Maori language is not a written one, so who knows what the correct spelling is. Whatever the spelling, it won’t impact the way the Taranaki dialect pronounces ‘Whanganui’. It will forever be called ‘Wanganui’ by the people from there.
http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/wanganui-whanganui-5-33-2997461
The underlying issue of this matter was laid out on key by Willie Jackson in his blog http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/opinion/willie-jackson/2309416/It-s-Whanganui-not-Wanganui; that: “Maori are getting too big for their boots and that if they give way the H, then Maori will probably want the whole country next” insert link. Maori, in the eyes of many, are a threat to local and national legislation and government. Pakeha are positioning themselves to conceive that if Maori get this they’ll get everything. But as Jackson points out, it will only lead to BETTER Maori and Pakeha relations, just as the initiatives of the 80s, 90s and 2000 have proven.
Pehea ou whakaaro???
Here is the full story behind the debate
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/national/2876324/Red-letter-day-for-W-font-color-cc0000-h-font-color-anganui
So Michael Laws is all up in arms about the issue, calling the GB’s decision a racist one, because it didn’t consider the opinions of the constituents of Whanganui. Well, clearly in the matter of speaking, the issue has gone beyond the ratepayers and citizens of Whanganui. The word “Whanganui” is a Maori word, so the matter SHOULD rest with the local iwi of the area, shouldn’t it? And, how can Laws justify ‘Wanganui’ as having its own “mana”? Is it not unethical to apply the word “mana” to a non-Maori word in the context of validating it [the non-Maori word]? Tupoho have been struggling with the issue for over a decade so it’s no surprise to myself and many other Maori that the GB has had a change of heart. It’s, as Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says, “the right thing to do”. After all, the city derives its name from the river, “Whanganui”.
Over time, the modern usage of the Wanganui dialect has forced, in some elusive manner or another, people to spell the name the same as the sound of the name. With this idea in place, why should ‘Whanganui’ be spelt ‘wh’? Assuming the principles of the alphabet of the Western World (A B C D and so on), who says we can’t or shouldn’t spell Whanganui with an ‘f’? People must remember that the Maori language is not a written one, so who knows what the correct spelling is. Whatever the spelling, it won’t impact the way the Taranaki dialect pronounces ‘Whanganui’. It will forever be called ‘Wanganui’ by the people from there.
http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/wanganui-whanganui-5-33-2997461
The underlying issue of this matter was laid out on key by Willie Jackson in his blog http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/opinion/willie-jackson/2309416/It-s-Whanganui-not-Wanganui; that: “Maori are getting too big for their boots and that if they give way the H, then Maori will probably want the whole country next” insert link. Maori, in the eyes of many, are a threat to local and national legislation and government. Pakeha are positioning themselves to conceive that if Maori get this they’ll get everything. But as Jackson points out, it will only lead to BETTER Maori and Pakeha relations, just as the initiatives of the 80s, 90s and 2000 have proven.
Pehea ou whakaaro???
Here is the full story behind the debate
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/national/2876324/Red-letter-day-for-W-font-color-cc0000-h-font-color-anganui
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